This document was produced and distributed through an IDEA Mandated Activities Project for Michigans Integrated Behavior and Learning Support Initiative (MiBLSi) awarded by the Michigan Department of Education. The opinions expressed herein do not necessarily reflect the position or policy of the Michigan Department of Education, the Michigan State Board of Education, or the U.S. Department of Education, and no endorsement is inferred. This document is in the public domain and may be copied for further distribution when proper credit is given. For further information or inquiries about this project, contact the Michigan Department of Education, Office of Special Education and Early Intervention Services, P.O. Box 30008, Lansing, Michigan 48909.

4Setting Group Expectations

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5Todays Agenda

Components of a Schoolwide Reading Model

Research Summary of Middle School Literacy

Goals, Objectives, Priorities

Assessment

Lunch

Instructional Program and Materials

Instructional Time

Differentiated Instruction/Grouping/Scheduling

Administration/Organization/Communication

Professional Development

Action Planning

6Literacy Crisis 7Reading Skills are Dangerously Low

More than 8 million students in grades 4-12 are struggling readers (U.S. DOE, 2003)

Every school day, more than 3000 students drop out of high school (Alliance for Excellent Education, 2003)

Only 70 of high school students graduate on time with a regular diploma

Over 75 of students who drop out of school ascribe major significance to the difficulties experienced in learning to read (Lyon, 2001)

Among the prison population, 70 demonstrate literacy at the two lowest levels of reading proficiency (NIFL, 1998)

912th Grade Reading2 in 3 students are not proficient in Reading.6662U.S. Department of Education 2003 108th Grade Reading7171Nations Report Card 2005 11What Are the Results?Low reading levels lead to high dropout rates.

Students in the bottom quartile of achievement are 20 times more likely to dropout than students in the top quartile.

20 XCarnevale 2001 Kamil 2003 Snow Biancarosa 2003. 12What Are the Results?What happens to entering 9th graders four years laterAlliance for Excellent Education37 Graduate from High School Not College-Ready29 Dropout of High School34 Graduate from High School College-ReadyGreene Winters 2005 13What Does the Reading DataTell Us?

On average, students of color and poor students are more likely to read at below basic levels, or far below grade level.

Where a student lives is not an indicator of their reading performance. Students in rural, suburban, and urban areas alike struggle to read at grade level.

14Indeed, the fundamental finding from the Education Trust studies is that however important demographic variables may appear in their association with student achievement, teaching quality is the most dominant factor in determining student success.Education Trust, 2001 15Current Literacy Policies and Practices Do Not Support Adolescents

Reading First Program under NCLB supports research-based programs in grades K-3

At fourth grade text changes and teachers are less prepared to incorporate literacy instruction into classes.

Fourth-grade slump- a drop in the achievement and reading comprehension skills of poor, minority, and students learning English.

16Reading Next-In addition to the Reading First program for students in grade K-3, the nation needs a Reading Next program to extend the focus on quality literacy instruction for students in grades 4-12.Available for download _at_ www.all4ed.org 17Team Activity

Discuss the state of literacy proficiency of your own students.

List the needs you see and the skills that students are lacking on the chart paper.

The following series of slides are based on the work of the Center on Instruction in the report Academic Literacy Instruction for Adolescents, 2007

Available for download at www.centeroninstruction.org

23Enough is already known about adolescent literacy both the nature of the problems of struggling readers and the types of interventions and approaches to address these needs in order to act immediately on a broad scale

Biancarosa Snow, 2006

24Three Goals for Improving Academic Literacy in Adolescents

Increase all students overall levels of reading proficiency

Ensure students who have achieved grade-level reading standards by the end of 3rd grade continue to meet increasingly difficult standards in middle and high schools

Help students who are reading below grade-level standards acquire the skills and knowledge required to meet those standards.

Note they must make multiple years growth for each year of instruction if they are to eventually achieve grade-level standards in reading.

25Focus on Instruction The Six Essential Areas

Reading Fluency

Vocabulary Knowledge

Domain-specific and domain-general content knowledge

Higher-level reasoning and thinking skills

Cognitive strategies that can be applied to enhance reading comprehension

Motivation and engagement

26Focus of Instruction

Reading fluency

Absolute level does not change much after 6th grade (approx. 150 wcpm).

Significant increase in sight vocabulary to maintain fluency level

Most efficient to use phonological and morphographic strategies to identify new words

Also need high levels of reading practice in appropriate leveled text

27Focus of Instruction

Vocabulary knowledge

Expanding knowledge needs to be supported in two principle ways

Inferring meaning from context

Knowledge of word parts (morphemes)

Explicit and systematic instruction with carefully selected new vocabulary is essential, especially for struggling readers

28Focus of Instruction

Domain-specific and domain-general content knowledge

Acquired through

broad and deep reading

explicit instruction

Students who cannot read grade-level text proficiently especially need more powerful instruction from their content-area teachers because they are less able to acquire critical conceptual and factual knowledge from the text themselves.

29Focus of Instruction

Higher-level reasoning and thinking skills

Students must grow in their ability to make inferences, draw conclusions, and engage in critical thinking

Students ability to think deeply about what they are reading must be stimulated and supported by their classroom experiences grades 4 through 12

30Focus of Instruction

Cognitive strategies that can be applied specifically to enhance reading comprehension

Proficient readers are much more likely to use a variety of purposeful strategies to enhance their comprehension

Rereading

Paraphrasing

Make explicit connections to prior knowledge

Underlining and note-taking

Visualization

These can be taught directly by all teachers! More effective instruction and support in the use of multiple, coordinated reading comprehension strategies is required in order to improve

31Focus of Instruction

Motivation and engagement

Motivation and interest in reading declines after early elementary gradesparticularly for student who have struggled during the initial stages of learning to read.

This results in

Not reading as much

Less engaged when they read

Research-based strategies for enhancing adolescents motivation and engagement in reading must be a part of any comprehensive plan for improving levels of academic literacy.

32Partner Activity

Take a minute with your partner and take turns defining each of these big ideas. Pretend that you are telling parents at conference time what these big ideas mean.

33A difficult job

Ensuring adequate literacy development for all students in middle and high school is a more challenging task than in the primary grades.

Literacy skills are more complex, more embedded in subject matters, and more multiply determined

Adolescents are not as universally motivated to read better

34But doable - if we are all involved

Teachers of science, mathematics, history, etc. must teach their subject matter so that students not only learn the content more deeply but learn to read content-area texts more strategically and become more proficient in thinking about the content.

Note Although reading strategies might be taught explicitly in a designated reading support class, students are unlikely to generalize them broadly to content areas unless teachers also explicitly support and elaborate the strategies use within the content-area texts.

35and if we have support

Clear outcomes

Evidence-based practices

Ongoing information and feedback

Systems to support and sustain implementation

(e.g. PD, collaboration, action-orientation, time, resources)

36Team ActivityGetting Everyone on Board

What level of understanding does all of your staff have in regards to improving literacy?

What are the needs for staff to increase understanding?

List your teams responses on the chart paper. 37Improving Literacy Skills of All Students

General Recommendations

Schools should have tiered interventions that allow significant increases in intensity of instruction for students based on their literacy needs.

Struggling readers must make more than one years growth in reading each year of instruction

Intensive and skillful instruction in basic word reading skills can have a significant impact on the comprehension ability of students. However, if reading accuracy is fairly high, there may be little benefit spending more time to improve this skill further

Repeated readings impact is significantly impacted by a skilled peer or teacher

Non-repeated readings with corrective feedback can also have a significant impact on fluency and comprehension

40Conclusions (continued)

In terms of interventions focused on vocabulary and comprehension, adolescent struggling readers benefit from direct and explicit instruction of effective reading strategies.

Struggling readers may require support beyond that which content-area teachers can provide to become proficient, but it would seem immensely helpful if content-area teachers were explaining and reinforcing the use of similar strategies in the content texts.

41Where Have We Done It?With this kind of intervention, schools have improved literacy.Summary of the Second Adolescent Literacy Workshops 2002. 42Where Have We Done It?With this kind of intervention, schools have improved literacy. 43Using the Schoolwide Evaluation Planning Tool (SWEPT) for Middle School Literacy The SWEPT is based on the Planning and Evaluation Tool-Rev. (Simmons Kameenui, 2003) 44SWEPT

The SWEPT is designed to help schools take stock of their strengths and areas of improvement in developing a schoolwide plan for teaching reading in Middle Schools.

The items and criteria in the SWEPT represent the ideal conditions and total to 100 points.

Score reflects how you are currently doing as a school in your instructional practices. This tool is designed to assist in your planning and implementation.

45Overview of the SWEPT

Evaluation Sections reflect critical components of a Schoolwide Model

Goals, Objectives, Priorities

Assessment

Instructional Program and Materials

Instructional Time

Differentiated Instruction/Grouping/Scheduling

Administration/Organization/Communication

Professional Development

46SWEPTSection 1 Goals, Objectives, Priorities

Goals for reading achievement are

clearly defined

anchored to research

prioritized in terms of importance to student learning,

commonly understood by users

consistently employed as instructional guides by teachers in the middle school.

47Goals, Objectives, and Priorities

Example Statement

I know the essential reading goals my colleagues and I are expected to teach and there is a system in place to determine if we are meeting the needs of all learners.

Non-example Statement

I am not sure what my fellow teachers are doing. I assume they do the same things that I do.

48GoalsA Set of Strategic, Research-Based, Measurable Goals to Guide Instruction, Assessment, and Learning

Specific goals that include targeted, measurable, outcomes with a precise time frame.

I will grade half of these tests by the time Dancing with the Stars begins. 51In reading, specific goals provide a detailed map to guide instruction, assessment and learning.

Specific Reading Goals

Tell you what to teach and when

Provide a framework for determining whether students are learning enough

Provide a framework for determining whether instruction is meeting the needs of all students

52Goal Setting for Middle School Reading

To impact literacy achievement, middle schools must focus instruction. Consequently, goals should be set for the following six essential areas for improving adolescent literacy

Reading Fluency

Content Knowledge

Vocabulary Knowledge

Higher Level Thinking Skills

Comprehension

Motivation and Engagement

Torgeson, et.al (2007). Academic Literacy Instruction for Adolescents A Guidance Document from the Center on Instruction

With your partner, create a goal for one of the six essential areas. 53Example Goals

80 of 7th grade students will be reading 150 wcpm in grade level text by January of 2008.

Of 6th grade students will be able to accurately define and apply the 100 critical high utility words by the end of the year.

Through teacher-peer observation, 95 of students will be actively engaged and responding during teacher-led instruction by October of 2008.

54Completing the SWEPT

SWEPT can be completed individually or in school teams

Evaluation criteria Each item has a value of 0, 1, or 2 to indicate the level of implementation

Some items are designated with a factor, (e.g., x2). Items with this designation are considered more important in the overall reading program. Multiply your rating by the number in parentheses and record that number in the blank to the left of the item.

Documentation of Evidence In the right-hand column of the table for each section, document the evidence to support your rating for each item.

The research literature on critical skills students need to be successful readers is compelling. You have heard the list of six essential areas for improving adolescent literacy twice. Can you remember any without peeking? Share with a partner.

Reading fluency

Vocabulary knowledge

Content knowledge

Higher-level reasoning and thinking skills

Cognitive strategies to enhance comprehension

Motivation and engagement strategies

74Why Focus on Critical Learning Standards?

Intensive instruction means teach less more thoroughly.

If you dont know what is important, everything is.

If everything is important, you will try to do everything.

If you try to do everything, you will be asked to do more.

If you do everything you wont have time to figure out what is important.

75Improving Literacy-Related Instruction in the Content Areas

Recommendation 1

Provide explicit instruction and supportive practice in the use of effective comprehension strategies throughout the school day

Note Explicit strategy instruction is the most widely cited current recommendation for improving reading comprehension in all students.

76Comprehension Strategies

Active metacognition that leads to the use of fix-up strategies when comprehension fails.

Use of graphic and semantic organizers, including story maps.

Question generation

Summarization and paraphrasing

Selective rereading

77Comprehension Research Support

100 of successful middle and high school teachers overtly taught strategies

Only 17 of less successful teachers overtly taught the strategies

78Conclusions about Comprehension Research

Explicit instruction of strategies with teacher modeling (the I do we do you do model)

Extended practice opportunities in the strategies

Initial discussions to promote metacognition

79Practical Issues for teaching Comprehension Strategies

Balance Strategy instruction should be the vehicle for effective content teaching

Involvement using small group interactions effectively to increase the involvement of underachieving students and facilitate active discussion is critical.

Number of strategies useful to teach more than one but how many is still up for debate

Time for PD Training and feedback is crucial for teachers to become skilled in providing strategy instruction.

80Improving Literacy-Related Instruction in the Content Areas

Recommendation 2

Increase the amount and quality of open, sustained discussion of reading content

Note Research results converge to suggest that comprehension of difficult text can be significantly enhanced by replacing traditional I-R-E (initiation-response-evaluation) patterns of instruction with discussion based activities in which students are invited to make predictions, summarize, link texts with one another, and with background knowledge, generate and answer text-related questions, clarify understanding, muster relevant evidence to support an interpretation, and interrelate reading, writing and discussion.

In higher performing (middle schools and high schools), at least 96 of the teachers helped students engage in thoughtful dialogue (i.e. shared cognition)

82Conclusions about Discussion-Oriented Instruction Research

Extended discussions are associated with improvements in the quality of students thinking about what they read.

Discussions impact student learning by

Improving understanding of specific content

Developing habits of analysis and critical thinking

83Practical Considerations

Balance the discussion-based approach will require adjustments to curriculum. There will need to be a balance between breadth and depth of coverage. Focusing on critical learning standards will help determine the amount of time that should be spent on any given topic.

84

Research results converge to suggest that comprehension of difficult text can be significantly enhanced by replacing traditional I-R-E (initiation-response-evaluation) patterns of instruction with discussion based activities in which students are invited to

make predictions,

summarize,

link texts with one another, and with background knowledge,

generate and answer text-related questions,

clarify understanding,

muster relevant evidence to support an interpretation,

interrelate reading, writing and discussion.

85Improving Literacy-Related Instruction in the Content Areas

Recommendation 3

Set and maintain high standards for text, conversation, questions, and vocabulary.

Note Unless individual teachers raise their own expectations of literacy for all of their students, state-level policies will have little impact.

86Conclusions about High-Standards Research

One consistent finding is that higher-level questioning matters.

Classrooms rated as placing higher academic demands on students also produced the strongest literacy growth

Teachers in higher performing schools used the (high-stakes) tests as an opportunity to revise and reformulate their literacy curriculum

More effective teachers tried to move students to deeper levels of understanding once initial learning goals were met, while less effective teachers moved to an unrelated activity with different content.

87Practical Considerations

School-level literacy leaders and teachers must apply the standards to classroom instruction and ongoing, formative assessments.

Classroom teachers must teach in ways that directly support student growth toward the high literacy standards.

88Improving Literacy-Related Instruction in the Content Areas

Recommendation 4

Increase students motivation and engagement with reading

Note Deep comprehension of complex text is an effortful process that requires active use of background knowledge, active use of appropriate reading strategies, and an actively thoughtful process

89Research Support for Motivation and Engagement Strategies

Provide clear, interesting learning goals for instruction

(use student-friendly language)

Provide a reasonable range of choices of reading materials and activities.

Provide interesting texts at multiple reading levels

Provide opportunities to collaborate with other students

Important note Teachers need to pay close attention to text difficulty and its match to student skills. 90Practical Considerations

Instructional strategies to increase student engagement and motivation need to be taught to teachers.

teachers who received training consistently implemented instructional strategies(and) students showed a significant increase in their engagement. (Reeve, Jang, et.al., 2004)

Most effective teachers focus on a finite number of methods for increasing student engagement during literacy instruction.

91Improving Literacy-Related Instruction in the Content Areas

Recommendation 5

Teach essential content knowledge so that all students master critical concepts.

Note The most important conclusion is that students with lower general verbal ability can comprehend and remember as well as students with high ability if they are equally familiar and knowledgeable about the material they are listening to or reading.

92Research Conclusions about Teaching Essential Concepts to Mastery

Vocabulary knowledge has an important impact on reading comprehension.

Wide reading

Direct teaching of high-utility words

Instruction in how to learn words independently (it is not looking them up in the dictionary.)

Instruction and activities that increase word consciousness.

93Research Conclusions (continued)

Teaching strategies around the concept of similarities and differences and using graphic organizers resulted in significant increases in student mastery, especially with typically low-performing students.

Well taught teacher-guided strategies can become an information-processing habit in students.

94Instruction ProgramsAdoption and Implementation of Research-Based Reading Programs That Support the Full Range of Learners

A core instructional program of validated efficacy adopted and implemented schoolwide

Supplemental and intervention programs to support core program

Programs and materials emphasize big ideas

Programs implemented with high fidelity

95Programs Implemented with High Fidelity

Programs are only as good as the level of implementation

To optimize program effectiveness

Implement the program everyday with fidelity (i.e., the way it was written)

tailoring instruction to meet current levels of knowledge and prerequisite skills

organizing instruction to enhance student learning.

112 A full 70 of U.S. middle school and high school students require differentiated instruction, which is instruction targeted to their individual strengths and weaknesses. (2004) Biancaraso and Snow. Reading Next- A vision for Action and Research Middle and High School Literacy 113Differentiated Instruction/Grouping/Scheduling

Example Statement

I teach using active participation strategies and grouping techniques to engage all learners and scaffold the learning of struggling students.

Non-example Statement

I typically use whole group and independent seat work for instruction.

114Differentiated Instruction Aligned with Student Needs

Students are grouped based on skill level (assessment results)

Specified intervention and supplemental programs are implemented depending on student needs and profiles

Groups are reorganized based on changes in student skill as assessed by regular progress monitoring data

Schools should have tiered interventions that allow significant increases in intensity of instruction for students based on their literacy needs.

Struggling readers must make more than one years growth in reading each year of instruction

121(No Transcript) 122Using the SWEPT to Evaluate a Schoolwide Reading Program Instructional Elements

Activity Complete Section V of the SWEPT

Review and Complete each item

As a school team, report one common score for each item and document the information sources available to substantiate the score reported.

123SWEPT Section VI Administration/Organization/Communication

Strong instructional leadership maintains a focus on high-quality instruction, organizes and allocates resources to support reading, and establishes mechanisms to communicate reading progress and practices.

Leaders organize resources and personnel to support reading instruction

A communication plan coordinated with all individuals responsible for teaching reading

126Leadership Teams

The use of teams at various levels to analyze data, plan instruction and offer support can be very effective in promoting cohesion and communication of reading goals.

Types of Teams

District Team (for larger districts)

School Improvement Team/Building Level Team/You

Grade Level Team

Student Assistance Teams

127(No Transcript) 128SWEPTSection VII Professional Development

Adequate and ongoing professional development is determined and available to support reading instruction.

129Professional Development

Example Statement

The principal or another teacher regularly observes and provides feedback for me to improve my skills.

Non-example Statement

I seldom collaborate with others on reading instruction nor have I been observed with the specific intent to review effective instructional practices in reading.

130Professional DevelopmentAn Integrated System of Research-Based Professional Development and Resource Allocation

Ongoing professional development is established to support teachers and instructional staff in reading priorities and effective instructional practices.

Time is allocated for educators to analyze, plan, and refine instruction.

Professional development efforts are explicitly linked to scientifically based programs and practices.

131(No Transcript) 132Using the SWEPT to Evaluate a Schoolwide Reading Program Administration/Organization and Professional Development

Activity Complete Sections VI and VII of the SWEPT

Review and complete each item

As a school team, record a common score for each item and document the information sources available to substantiate the score recorded.

133Activity School Summary Score

After your team evaluates current practices on all 7 sections, proceed to page 11 in the SWEPT

Summarize the total score for each element and write that score plus the percent attained of the possible total in the spaces provided

Sum your total school score and percentage

Retain a copy of this document for planning

Turn in one copy of page 11

134What does a MiBLSi school look like when they have a comprehensive schoolwide model for reading? 135A MiBLSi School

Has clearly defined, quantifiable goals that are linked to the essential elements and guide instructional decisions.

Uses AIMS Web as its primary screening and progress monitoring measure and as an outcome measure. Teachers use AIMS Web data to group students and inform instruction.

Has purchased and is implementing faithfully research-based supplemental programs to fill the gaps within the core program and to provide additional instruction and practice in essential components for those students who need it.

Has purchased and is implementing faithfully research-based intervention programs to meet the needs of those students who do not benefit from the core instruction.

136A MiBLSi School

Dedicates at least 60-minutes to reading instruction daily.

Provides additional instructional time for those students who fail to make adequate reading progress

Determines group size, instructional time, and instructional programs according to learner performance

Has a schoolwide reading plan which includes a targeted instructional map for Benchmark, Strategic, and Intensive students in each grade level. All teachers participate in this plan.

Establishes leadership teams (e.g., District team, School Improvement team, Grade-level team) to analyze reading performance and plan instruction, ensuring that instruction is coordinated across grades and special services.

Schedules ongoing high quality professional development to support teachers and instructional staff, including time for teachers to analyze, plan, and refine instruction.

137Using the Results of the SWEPT to create an action plan for your school 138School Team ActivityReading Action Plans

With your team, review the scores on the SWEPT Individual Summary to identify three areas in which you want to focus for the coming year

Begin to establish goals. (Refer to slide 53.)

Determine action toward goals (what), who will be responsible, and when the goals will be accomplished

Retain a copy of this document for planning and make a copy to submit

139Assignments

Schedule a meeting to occur before your Strategic Reading training day with the following goals for the day being

Set a schedule for the teams for the balance of the school year

Share this information with your entire staff

Complete AIMSWeb Assessment and enter data into website

Schedule a meeting to analyze the data. What are the instructional implications?

140References

Alliance for Excellent Education (2004). Reading Next A Vision for Action and Research in Middle and High School Literacy. Washington, DC.

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